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As I've written before, I rely on lots of slow cooker recipes to get dinner on the table during the school year.

My family's favorite dishes are soups, stews and sauces, including this bean chili, which is really filling and very affordable. It's yummy on its own or over rice or pasta. I like to serve it with cheese, chunks of avocado and sour cream

Dump all of the ingredients into your slow cooker and put the cover on. Cook for six hours on low or three hours on high. Once cooking has finished, take out about a cup or two of the beans; place the beans into a large bowl; and mash them up. Pour the mashed beans back into the bowl and stir. This makes for a thicker, creamier chili.

My family likes varying degrees of "spice." So we heat up our own bowls - to taste - with hot sauce at the table.